Donald Trump seethes against Russia probe ‘disgrace’

Robert Mueller departs after briefing the US House Intelligence Committee on his investigation. Reuters

President Donald Trump seethed Thursday that investigators probing alleged collusion between Russian agents and his election campaign have gone “totally nuts” and are a “disgrace”.

Even by the standards of his frequent barrages against special counsel Robert Mueller, Mr Trump’s early morning tweet storm was blistering.

“A TOTAL WITCH HUNT LIKE NO OTHER IN AMERICAN HISTORY!” he wrote.

The inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess. They have found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts. They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want. They are a disgrace to our Nation and don’t...

....care how many lives the ruin. These are Angry People, including the highly conflicted Bob Mueller, who worked for Obama for 8 years. They won’t even look at all of the bad acts and crimes on the other side. A TOTAL WITCH HUNT LIKE NO OTHER IN AMERICAN HISTORY!

Mr Mueller, a former director of the FBI and a Vietnam War veteran, is leading one of the most explosive probes in US political history.

Mr Trump and his campaign are alleged to have received help from Russian agents seeking to help defeat his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton or at least to undermine confidence in US democracy.

Mr Trump has always denied any such links and rejected the idea that Moscow played a significant role in influencing the dramatic election.

But Mr Mueller has quietly chipped away, indicting several dozen people, most of them Russians. He has also charged four Trump associates, although on charges not directly related to the alleged Russian interference.

Now Washington is on tenterhooks while waiting for Mr Mueller, who works in near total secrecy, to issue his final report.

As expectations of a showdown mount, Mr Trump has become ever more defensive, his grim mood worsened by his Republican party’s battering last week in midterm congressional elections, where they retained the Senate but lost the House of Representatives.

Starting in January, Democrats say they will use House investigative committees to open further probes of Mr Trump’s businesses and his connections to Russia.

Republicans, with few exceptions, are rallying around the president.

On Wednesday, Republican Senator Jeff Flake, a frequent critic, joined Democratic Senator Chris Coons in an attempt to introduce a measure in the upper chamber to protect Mueller. However, it was blocked by Senate majority leader and key Trump ally Mitch McConnell.

Mr Whitaker’s fired predecessor Sessions had formally stepped aside from any control over Mr Mueller, so as to avoid any conflicts of interest.

Democrats want Mr Sessions’ replacement to do likewise, but there is no indication that he will.

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer has said that if Whitaker refuses to recuse himself, Democrats will seek to attach legislation protecting Mueller to a must-pass spending bill that will be up for consideration in the coming weeks.